15 Candidates For Bukit Selambau, Can They Really Represent The Rakyat?

15 candidates vying for 1 spot! That’s a first for Malaysia. Nothing we’ve ever seen before. Election Commision gave some hint that there will be many candidates for Bukit Selambau.
Many came for the forms before the nomination earlier this morning.

The numbers of candidates gave us hope that democracy is alive and kicking in Malaysia. Not that I lose hope to see a fair election but it opens up another window of opportunity for those who think they can serve the country outside the 2 coalition parties.

In the history of this middle aged nation, we’ve never seen as many as 15 candidates offering their service at any state or parliamentary election. I don’t have any problem with this. I don’t care if the whole kampong offering themselves as candidates. It doesn’t matter.

But what matters most is their ability to service to the rakyat. How serious are they? Can they really offer their service effectively without aligning themselves to either Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat?

History has proven that they need a huge machinery to manage their constituents. Yes they can balk the trend but how far can they go and how long can they last?

The single female candidate mentioned the reason for her contesting this by election because there are 60% female voters in this constituency. I have nothing against woman but I think her reason behind it is a bit suspect. Saying that is akin to ignoring the male voters.

Has she done any research on voter’s trend? Did Teresa Kok win because there are more female voters at her constituency? She’s supposed to represent the rakyat not a specific gender. And can she carry the gender torch alone outside 2 coalition parties in fighting for gender equality. I hope she’s not being gender specific in her campaign.

I hope all the candidates won’t use the ‘independence’ ticket as a bargaining tool. We don’t want to see any indie candidates jumps to either PR or BN. Once they decided to fight as an independence, they should always be independent and not align to any camp.

The rakyat in Bukit Selambau should ask the candidates to clarify their stand and pledge loyalty to their indie cause. If the reason for their contest as independent was because they were dropped from their respective parties, the rakyat should reject them. You don’t need a YB who has no sense of loyalty.

Being a YB is not an easy task what more when they’re an independent. They don’t have financial prowess to go against PR and BN. Once they won, another headache waiting for them.

Being an YB need a lot of sacrifice, not only money but also time and family. You need to have your family support behind you. You also need to have a good accountant behind you.

To manage a constituency needs a substantial amount of money. A YB gets an annual expenses for them to spend on their constituency. Mind you, this money amounting between 200k to 500k can disappear within minutes. Almost everyday the YB wiil encounter request for sponsorship. There are also request for new roads, some money for their children’s wedding or request for a new grass cutter. Allthis need money and the allocation given is not enough.

This is unknown territory. Many first time YBs didn’t expect this and they were overwhelmed by it. This cause headache and stress unto them. Many wished they didn’t sign the nomination forms. Many wished they should quit before things gone out of hand.

To the magnificent 13 (minus candidates from BN & PR), have you had a deep thought before you nominate yourself? You are considered a traitor if you take sides. You should be neutral and independent. That was what the rakyat voted for, an independent!